


Constant vigilance!

by PrettyPinkCupcake



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Rigel Black Chronicles - murkybluematter
Genre: CONSTANT VIGILANCE!, Gen, Includes spoilers for FF13 and FF14., Inspired by The Rigel Black Chronicles, Set during the Futile Facade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:02:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29797863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrettyPinkCupcake/pseuds/PrettyPinkCupcake
Summary: Constant vigilance is Auror Alastor Moody's catchphrase.  Moody respects Head Auror James Potter, but is fully aware (thanks to constant vigilance!) that constant vigilance is not James Potter's forte.  But could Moody ever find a situation where constant vigilance is a hinderance rather than a help?[Fanfiction of murkybluematter's Rigel Black Chronicles. Set during Futile Facade.]
Comments: 25
Kudos: 91





	Constant vigilance!

**Author's Note:**

> This will only make sense to fans of murkybluematter's Pureblood Pretense, Serpentine Subterfuge, Ambiguous Artifice and the Futile Facade.
> 
> If you haven't read these works, you've missed something significant in the world of Harry Potter FanFiction, so what are you waiting for? Read them!
> 
> Happy reading!

Senior Auror Alastor Moody is constantly vigilant. All the time. Eating, sleeping, working, relaxing… not that Moody ever really relaxes; constant vigilance doesn’t allow it.

At home and in the office. On duty in the field. Off duty in the Leaky Cauldron, Three Broomsticks or Hogshead. At exhibition duels, the Quidditch World Cup, the lower alleys free dueling tournament, the Triwizard Tournament. In the morning, afternoon, evening and night. Always.

Constant vigilance has kept Alastor Moody – and others, although they may not recognise or appreciate it – relatively injury free and alive.

Constant vigilance has been Alastor Moody’s catchphrase for the last twenty years; it is the philosophy Moody lives by, and the reason he had survived relatively unharmed, when so many other Aurors of his generation had not.

Moody knew what people said about him; constant vigilance taught him that others thought he was overly paranoid, seeing dark wizards everywhere.

Constant vigilance meant that Moody was not unaware of the stories about him that were shared in the Auror Department lunch room or used to scare the new trainees.

Moody didn’t care what others thought or said about him; despite his injuries he had survived, while others had not. His trainees, his proteges, those who listened to his instructions, who believed, who _lived_ constant vigilance, they were more successful out in the field (read had fewer injuries and fatalities) than those who were not or did not.

But it was not enough.

Moody still wished more people would take his warnings seriously; recent decades had been relatively peaceful, a long way from the terror of the Grindelwald years, but somehow Moody knew that would not, could not, last.

Constant vigilance knew that even though Grindelwald had been defeated, dark wizards would continue to plague the wizarding world.

Nature abhors a vacuum, and defeating dark wizards today just means more baby dark wizards tomorrow. And eventually babies grow; baby dark wizards become dangerous dark wizards. Criminals. Terrorists. Agents of destruction, madness and mayhem.

Dark wizards are easier to defeat in their infancy; by the 1940s Grindelwald was too powerful to be defeated without massive casualties. No one, certainly not Moody, wanted to see another Grindelwald.

Constant vigilance became even more important after the shady recruiting that followed the Lower Alleys free dueling tournament and the “Death Eaters” at the Quidditch World Cup.

 _Of course_ Moody had been aware of the illicit free dueling tournament – and more importantly, he was aware of post tournament efforts to recruit the contestants; Moody could hardly claim to practice constant vigilance otherwise.

Truth be told, Moody was actually quite impressed with how well organised the whole free dueling tournament had been.

The concealment and expansion wards were very professional; Moody thought he recognised Regulus Black’s touch, a suspicion that was confirmed when constant vigilance identified an ineptly (at least to Moody) disguised Regulus at the tournament.

Moody generally applied a live and let live philosophy towards the denizens of the lower alleys and their activities. Most Aurors did; the Auror Department ordinarily stayed out of the alleys as much as they could.

Constant vigilance demanded awareness of what was happening in the alleys; it did not necessitate involvement or interference. The alleys looked after themselves; more so in recent years – until the politically motivated search for that damnable jewel the previous year unleashed any amount of unnecessary angst, and for zero gain.

Those raids had once again confirmed the benefits of Moody’s methods and his constant vigilance; not only was Moody’s intelligence confirmed (no one in the alleys knew anything at all about the Dominion Jewel), but none of Moody’s proteges had the sort of trouble the less vigilant aurors had.

(It was only luck that saved Aurors Murphy and Billowag when they unintentionally provoked one of the local vampire covens; their firefight neary resulted in several burnt out stores.)

* * *

It was not surprising that Alastor Moody’s constant vigilance noticed that there was something … noteworthy … about Rigel Black when Moody watched the first task.

It was not because the kid scored the top spot – although perhaps the judges also felt that there was something special, something different, about the kid? Maybe they gave the kid the highest scores because they felt sorry the kid faced not only the dragon but an unplanned werewolf?

Moody was less than impressed that a rogue werewolf invaded the first task.

Constant vigilance would not have allowed such a dangerous breach.

With the division of responsibilities for security shared between the tournament organisers (largely bureaucrats from the Department of Magical Games and Sports), Hogwarts staff, and the Aurors, it was hardly surprising that there were cracks in security large enough for a werewolf to slip through. It was actually more surprising that there weren’t more security breaches or other rogue creatures.

Moody _liked_ Albus Dumbledore, but while Dumbledore was himself a powerful wizard, one only had to look at the events of the last few years to realise that Hogwarts was far from the safe place it claimed to be; that Albus was not a practitioner of constant vigilance.

Constant vigilance told Moody that the sleeping sickness was a deliberate attack; that its timing was not coincidental.

Then there was the basilisk in the bowels of the school, petrifying pupils. Halloween two years past, saw an onslaught of acromantulas, an incursion of centaurs and an uprising of merpeople, followed by a rogue dragon in the Forbidden Forest later that same year. And then that dreadful business with Pettigrew and the Black kid.

The same Black kid that Moody’s constant vigilance recognised as special in the first task. The same Black kid that cured the sleeping sickness and fought the basilisk.

Constant vigilance suggested that someone or something was targeting Hogwarts – or perhaps even targeting the Black kid.

Moody observed during the first task that the kid was aware – wary even – of the forest in a way that the other contestants were not; there was something about the kid that spoke to Moody’s inner vigilante, something that called out to Moody.

Perhaps it was due to the kid taking advice from a snake, a resident of the forest? Collaborating with the muggleborn to get through the task? Or perhaps it was the kid’s commitment to his serpentine companion once said companion was injured? Maybe it was because the kid was a Parselmouth?

(Moody was well aware that just being a Parselmouth did not a dark wizard make. Moody was actually more surprised that a Black was a Parselmouth when it was the Potters who were direct descendants of the Peverells, the first known Parselmouths.)

Constant vigilance made Moody take notice of the kid, and Moody didn’t generally pay attention to kids; it’s not that Moody had anything against kids, it’s just that they weren’t normally that interesting.

Moody hadn’t dealt closely with Sirius Black for many years, not since Sirius had resigned from the Auror Department when his wife fell ill, and if Moody had ever met the kid before, it had only ever been in passing.

Sirius Black had been a good auror, reasonably diligent, pleasant to work with, but lacking that spark, that certain something, that … constant vigilance … that turned a good auror into a great auror. Given what Moody knew of Sirius, it had surprised him that Sirius’s kid did so well in the first task.

Constant vigilance suggested there was a lot more to the kid than just having Sirius Black as a father.

Moody knew the Black kid was also the Head Auror’s godson; that the Potter and Black families, along with werewolf Remus Lupin, were an extremely close knit group. Moody knew Potter was concerned about the kid; that it was Potter more than Dumbledore who had dragooned Dawlish into teaching at Hogwarts for the year.

Ostensibly the reason was to ensure the students had proper defence training and an on-site Auror during the year of the tournament; in reality, as much as Potter trusted Dumbledore, Potter wanted additional protection for his godson after the Pettigrew incident.

Constant vigilance considered that Dawlish as Hogwarts DADA professor for a year wasn’t the worst option for Hogwarts.

Even if it meant that ministerial protective duties (not so fondly known as baby sitting amongst some Aurors) had to be shared amongst a wider group of Aurors, including Moody.

At least Senior Auror John Dawlish knew his stuff. While not precisely a practitioner of Moody’s level of constant vigilance, Dawlish possessed sufficient vigilance to be very good at his job as the Minister’s head of security.

Moody doubted that Dawlish cared enough about student shenanigans to be sufficiently vigilant around them; certainly Dawlish didn’t seem to realise that his comments on the Black kid didn’t align with what Potter had said over the years about his godson.

Constant vigilance had unearthed several curious contradictions about the kid.

According to Potter, Archie – and wasn’t it _interesting_ that family called the kid Archie while at school the kid was known as Rigel – was apparently an unconscious metamorph whose powers subconsciously manifested such that the kid’s appearance resembled features to mimic those of his best friend and “cousin”, Harriett (Harry) Potter.

Constant vigilance scoffed at the concept of an unconscious metamorph. Moody knew that magic didn’t work that way; even if it did (and apparently the kid went against the way magic worked when healing the sleeping sickness), why would the kid fixate on looking like a female “cousin”?

Potter believed the kid wanted to be a healer. An ambition that crystallised after his mother’s death and remained constant throughout his schooling, even to the point where the kid organised a healing internship over the summer in the Darien gap of all places.

In contrast, Dawlish reported that while the kid did study some healing under Madam Pomfrey, and the kid had a reputation for knowledge well in excess of that of his peers in charms, transfiguration and herbology, it was the kid’s passion for potions that drove him, a passion for potions that pleased even the notoriously difficult Potions Master, Severus Snape.

Constant vigilance suggested all may not be as it first appeared.

Potter just brushed the kid’s potions studies off as something Potter’s godson was doing for Potter’s daughter, who in return was studying healing at the American Institute of Magic for the kid. That didn’t make much sense to Moody, but Potter didn’t see anything strange in the arrangement.

But then, while Potter was a decent enough auror in the field, a more than decent administrator and manager, and an Auror Moody respected (though not for Potter’s vigilance), constant vigilance was not Potter’s forte, nor his maxim.

Potter was sufficiently vigilant in potentially dangerous situations, but otherwise? There were definitely things Potter was oblivious to.

Indeed, constant vigilance and James Potter parted ways when it came to his family and close friends.

The Black kid wouldn’t have overheard anything about the search for the Dominion Jewel if Potter hadn’t been carelessly talking to the kid’s father last year. And Potter saw nothing untoward or sneaky in anything his kid or the Black kid did. Parental blinkers? Certainly not constant vigilance.

* * *

Constant vigilance ensured that Moody managed to scrutinise the Black kid’s performance in the second task, even though Moody was ostensibly supposed to be on the lookout for pickpockets, illegal tournament betting and other minor breaches of the law

The Aurors had been rostered on in force to keep the peace in Diagon Alley where the Triwizard Tournament Mirror drew large crowds; Moody instead took this as an opportunity to covertly conduct his own investigations.

Moody had little sympathy for the victims of pickpockets; by and large the victims were wealthy and the scale of their wealth left their pride the only thing really affected by the crime.

In contrast, most pickpockets were orphaned kids or kids whose families were struggling to survive. Besides, and more importantly as far as Moody was concerned, anyone who didn’t practice constant vigilance deserved what they got.

Moody’s focus since the Quidditch World Cup, despite the lack of interest from other Aurors, had been almost solely on the so-called “Death Eaters”. Reliable sources informed Moody that the Death Eaters were recruiting.

Constant vigilance told Moody that the dark wizards behind the Death Eaters were different from the sort of dark wizard the Aurors normally dealt with. The Death Eaters were Organised. Connected. Dangerous.

Rigel Black surprised everyone watching the tournament, even Moody, when the kid’s magic flared powerfully to overcome the shrinking ward at the end of the obstacle course… It was not something Moody would expect in a child of Sirius Black..

Constant vigilance suggested that Rigel Black had a potentially dangerous level (perhaps even lord level?) of magical power; that the kid would need to be watched closely.

Amusingly, managing to watch the kid in the next tasks was made significantly easier when Potter unofficially assigned Moody to report back on Black’s performance in the remainder of the tournament.

Apparently the kid was worried about performing with family watching and had asked that they not be present at the next task. And Black, the Potters, and Lupin were just going to go along with the request!

Moody’s constant vigilance was tingling at this; by itself Moody could perhaps understand the kid’s feelings. But coupled with the other … unusual … things he was learning about Archie Rigel Black…

To Moody’s constant vigilance this request was yet another suspicious thing about the kid. Potter was oblivious; Black and Potter were both worried about the kid (not unjustifiably, suggested constant vigilance; there had been a rogue werewolf in the first task) and they just wanted to do anything and everything they could to help their son and godson.

Constant vigilance told Moody that one of the reasons Potter had been concerned about his godson’s involvement in the tournament (apart from more general fears for his godson’s safety given the incidents the kid had been involved in at since his first year at Hogwarts) was that Potter didn’t think the kid was that interested in physical activity, dueling, or the sort of tasks the tournament would require.

(Potter had even gone so far as to suggest that his daughter was the more committed of the two when it came to physical training!)

Conversely, Dawlish had reported that Black trained regularly with the Malfoy and Parkinson offspring, but was not as interested in dueling as the Malfoy scion. Black apparently had pretty good reflexes and a good knowledge of basic offensive and defensive spells, along with a certain amount of wariness in certain circumstances.

Not always; not enough for true constant vigilance. Dawlish had reported that it was a bit of a running joke amongst some of the staff how oblivious the kid was to teenage crushes. At least the kid had seemed suspicious of Dawlish when Dawlish handed over Potter’s _Auror’s Field Guide_.

Moody hadn’t exactly been happy when he heard that a non-Auror had been given access to the Auror’s handbook, but Potter was Head Auror, the kid was Potter’s godson, and it was Potter’s book.

The kid’s wariness about Dawlish’s motivations in handing over the book showed good vigilance on the kid’s part. The inconsistency between Potter’s understanding of the kid and Dawlish’s report, on the other hand, showed poor vigilance on the part of Potter.

* * *

The third task was dueling, and once again, Rigel Black performed exceptionally well.

The Chinese pureblood provided little real competition for Black; that match was over rather quickly. Black had an unusual style, but demonstrated nothing too extraordinary in the first match. The kid had great reflexes, and Moody could see the occasional element from the Auror’s Field Guide and Dawlish’s teachings in the kid’s moves.

It was Black’s second match, against the Greek educated Halfblood, when things started to get interesting. It soon became apparent, at least to those who practiced constant vigilance, that the kid was no stranger to dueling against a weaponed opponent.

Indeed, Moody now recognised other elements of the kid’s unique dueling style; several of the kid’s moves were eerily reminiscent of some Moody had witnessed in last summer’s free dueling tournament. Intriguing, given that the Black kid was apparently thousands of miles away in the Darien Gap when the tournament had been held.

Moody was less shocked by the kid’s blood rune than the rest of the crowd; constant vigilance required a thorough knowledge of the uses of blood, and Moody recognised the incantation from _Arrays for the Harried_ \- a favourite of Dumbledore’s and hardly dark magic.

Moody’s impression of the kid went up several notches; the use of an opponent’s blood demonstrated that the kid was fully aware of the ramifications of being careful with one’s blood. Plus the kid was innovative and able to take advantage of any and all opportunities presented. Constant vigilance in action.

The kid’s third match was against the Bulgarian Seeker, Krum. The sentiment from the surrounding crowd was that Black should have had a chance to rest and recover before the next match; the kid’s opponent was rested from the earlier match while Black was not.

Moody abhorred unfairness whilst simultaneously recognising that real life wasn’t fair; in a real fight no one gave you time out to recover. Survival depended on the ability to adapt, on cunning, patience and ruthlessness; in addition to an incredible ferocity of spell casting and magical power, that was precisely what the kid displayed, even while recovering from the earlier bout.

As much as Moody liked Sirius Black, he knew that these were not characteristics often shown by the boy’s father. Another anomaly?

Moody supposed that the kid was a Slytherin; Sirius was very much a stereotypical Gryffindor. Perhaps that was where the real mystery was; that Sirius Black’s child was cunning and ambitious where Sirius Black was open and bold.

It was the final duel which confirmed Moody’s desire to train the boy as an Auror. Not only was the kid extremely magically powerful (constant vigilance wouldn’t let Moody forget that incredible flare of magic in the second task), talented, and duelling at a professional level at age 14, but, and most importantly to Moody, Black clearly didn’t like innocents being hurt.

Black’s destruction of the stage in pursuit of Owens was vengeance on behalf of the Granger girl for Owen’s use of unnecessary violence against Granger. This was not the first time in the tournament that Black had demonstrated loyalty to his allies, and Moody thoroughly approved.

The questions surrounding Rigel Black kept growing; Sirius Black didn’t teach the kid all those fancy duelling moves. So who did?

* * *

The fourth task taught Moody’s Auror trainees more about the need for constant vigilance in the field than many of the exercises Moody was allowed to use with them. That it was a fourteen year old responsible for that lesson in constant vigilance was impressive.

What was less impressive was Black’s chosen method of traversing the Black Lake (gillyweed) as it left the kid unable to hear and consequently unable to distinguish between friend and foe; something that could prove fatal in a fight.

Constant vigilance required an alternative method, one that didn’t deafen you or hamper awareness of your surroundings. Not that the trainees’ use of the Bubble Head charm was without flaws either.

The muggleborn champion’s method, the Liberespiraire potion, was actually the better choice, not that Moody’s constant vigilance had warmed to the Owens boy.

Still, the Black kid was only fourteen; younger than the Auror trainees guarding the hostage, and had plenty of time to learn. Hopefully sooner than some of his trainees; unfortunately Trainee Auror Tonks had thought the whole situation hilarious – at least when she’d gotten over her initial panic and the kid explained things to her. But then it wasn’t Tonks’s Bubble Head charm that has been breached.

Constant vigilance abhorred the very concept of the fifth task: the Draught of Delirium made constant vigilance all but impossible.

Although… perhaps that was the training his Auror trainees needed? Nah. Unfortunately Potter would never go for it after hearing the reports of what his godson went through.

Regardless, what Moody saw in the fifth task was that the kid performed well; much better than the other, older, contestants.

Even through the delirium, the kid still had enough vigilance to hesitate before the blood ward at the finale; a shame there was no alternative to willingly giving blood if the kid wanted to win.

* * *

While most attendees at Dumbledore’s annual soiree saw the soiree as a chance to catch up with like minded fellows, and enjoy a bit of light politicking, relaxing banter and Molly Weasley’s enviable cooking, Moody knew that constant vigilance never ceased, even if Potter felt that he was off duty.

This year, an opportunity presented itself to Moody. At Madame Longbottom’s request, Rigel Black would be attending. Moody would be able to observe the kid at close quarters, even interact with the kid, without appearing suspicious.

Constant vigilance had unfortunately been mistaken for stalking more than once over the years, much to Moody’s disgust.

In person the kid was both more and less what Moody had expected. More personable than was apparent from the performances in the tournament, and yet, at the same time, somehow even less like Sirius Black. Something about the kid’s interactions with family seemed forced, not natural; as if the kid was putting on a performance. But for who? The kid was only interacting with family and family friends here.

Close up, constant vigilance noted an unusual feel to the kid’s magic. Plentiful, powerful, but not forceful or aggressive. An unusual, almost contradictory mix of wildness and precise control. Strangely enough, it reminded Moody more of the Potters than the Blacks.

Or maybe it wasn’t that strange; the Potters and Blacks, along with Lupin, were extremely close, after all. The kid didn’t appear at all put out when asked to hold the Potter toddler; the toddler even enthusiastically accepted it. Unfortunately Moody was too far away even for his enhanced hearing to hear what the toddler said when endearingly swatting the teen with chubby hands.

Constant vigilance advised that the bond between the toddler and the teen was strong; for all that the teen was away at Hogwarts for nine months of the year.

Moody was not too aware of many fourteen year old boys who had such a relationship with a young child. But then, it was one of the unspoken tragedies of the wizarding world that increasingly there were fewer and fewer young children around now, and certainly not younger siblings.

Moody thought about asking Potter about the relationship between his youngest daughter and his godson, but constant vigilance advocated learning the Potter Black family dynamics through observation rather than (the much less than reliable) James Potter.

Direct interaction with the kid demonstrated a gratifying level of respect towards Moody, and an impressive talent for dissembling on the kid’s part.

Moody had no doubt that Lupin had taught the kid dueling, but the kid was close to being a professional duelist; Lupin clearly wasn’t his only teacher, and the kid clearly wasn’t willing to say who else had taught him.

Moody could see some of what Dawlish taught in the kid’s moves, as well as Lupin’s influence. Moody knew from Dawlish’s reports that Snape was giving the kid extra training for the tournament, but the kid’s moves spoke of considerable experience with weapons that would not be taught at Hogwarts, not even by Snape.

There was something about the kid’s stated intention to become a healer that didn’t feel quite right to Moody, but by then his constant vigilance was warning him that something was up with Nymphadora, and his trainee took priority.

Constant vigilance and ferocious anger took second place to the almost supernatural calm that came over Moody in moments of crisis the instant that Moody saw the almost fatally wounded Auror trainee.

Combating dark wizards, even just general Auror duties, did increase the likelihood of injury, and despite his practising of constant vigilance, Moody had had a lot of experience with healing and healers over the years. Moody knew enough first aid and field medicine to stabilise the wound until a more qualified healer could take over.

That the most qualified healer readily available was the fourteen year old Hogwarts student Moody was seeking knowledge about was concerning. The kid performed well, confidently taking charge, assessing the damage and formulating a response, leaving behind no evidence of the injury.

The crisis passed, with Moody’s constant vigilance telling him that the kid’s success in healing the trainee’s injury was due more to a powerful desire, a magical need, to fix the damage done than any particular knowledge or practice of specific healing techniques.

While such a process worked (and given the circumstances that was the most important thing), it wasn’t the exacting process a fully trained healer would use. The kid’s powerful magical ability was driving the healing process more than knowledge of specific healing spells.

In some ways that was only to be expected; the kid was only 14 and the Hogwarts Healing Program was extremely limited compared to what was taught in American schools, despite Madam Pomfrey clearly teaching the kid well.

But for someone who professed to want to be a healer, it was a bit surprising that the kid hadn’t given additional extracurricular focus to healing in a manner similar to the kid’s extracurricular focus on potions. Healing appeared to be a lesser priority… Another possible anomaly.

After the attack on his trainee, Moody’s constant vigilance was on high alert, so really it wasn’t that surprising that Moody was incredibly suspicious about the Blood Replenisher the kid retrieved from a pocket.

Admittedly it was an inspired idea, something that could be useful for healers and possibly even aurors, and quite definitely a life saver in these circumstances, but who carries emergency potions with them at all times?

Rigel Black and Harry Potter apparently, according to Potter senior, who saw nothing suspicious in the practice. Perhaps it was usual for those kids to do that, although it made said kids anything but usual.

Not willing to accept anything the less-than-constantly-vigilant-around-his-kids-and-family Head Auror said, Moody himself inspected the Blood Replenisher carefully. He wasn’t going to let a dodgy potion be given to his trainee.

Moody did have plenty of experience with Blood Replenishers, and he grudgingly admitted (if only to himself) that what the kid handed him was actually a very high quality Blood Replenisher. Horace Burke standard, and not only were Burke’s products always high quality, but Burke’s Blood Replenishers had improved markedly in recent years.

Regardless, Moody’s priority now was his trainee, tracking and dealing with the attackers. Constant vigilance demanded it. The mysteries and anomalies that were Rigel Black would keep.

* * *

Constant vigilance gave Moody a bad feeling in the lead up to the final task of the tournament. It was a nebulous, inarticulate feeling that something … bad … was going to happen. What precisely that meant, Moody did not know, which was both worrying and frustrating.

Despite Potter’s efforts with the tournament organisers, (a strange combination of the Department of Magical Games and Security and the Department of International Magical Cooperation and a handful of SOW party hacks), Moody’s efforts to involve himself more in the security preparations for the final task came to naught.

Moody hated interdepartmental politics; in fact he’d never been a fan of Ludo Bagman, the DMGS Head, and had few positive things to say about Barty Crouch Senior, Head of the DIMC, and even less to say about Barty Crouch Junior, who for some reason was the SOW party operative most involved in the tournament.

It was a shame that the political ramifications of Rigel Black winning the tournament were so unfortunate for non-purebloods; after watching the kid’s performance throughout the tournament, Moody really thought that the kid deserved to win.

Moody knew that the tournament was rigged; you didn’t need to practice constant vigilance, you just needed to know Riddle and the SOW party to know that. Dumbledore, however, seemed rather relaxed at the prospect of Rigel Black, Pureblood Champion, winning.

Constant vigilance suggested that Dumbledore knew something that others didn’t.

Moody snorted. Constant vigilance wasn’t needed for that either; Dumbledore always knew things that others didn’t. Indeed, the Hogwarts Headmaster was renowned for holding his cards close to his chest and keeping his own counsel. Even those close to him never really knew the full extent of his knowledge or his plans.

Moody suspected that Dumbledore even knew why Rigel Black was competing as the Pureblood champion. It was certainly a mystery as to why the child of Sirius Black, with such close ties to a muggleborn “Aunt”, a halfblood werewolf “Uncle” and halfblood “cousins”, would want to be involved in a contest to prove pure blood supremacy. For all that Potter was supportive of his godson, it was a question Potter couldn’t answer.

The kid’s performance against the hyena animagus was unsurprising. But against Dawlish? Dawlish was not the very best fighter the Aurors had, but he was certainly one of the best. Very much above average. And it appeared that even Dawlish was surprised at the skill with which the kid responded.

The clever way in which the kid subdued and overcame Dawlish strongly reinforced Moody’s desire to have the kid join the Auror Department. Ideally tomorrow, if not today. The Aurors could sorely use the kid’s skills, if incidents with the Death Eaters continued to escalate.

And incidents with the Death Eaters did indeed escalate; in a manner which surpassed even Moody’s ability to predict.

Moody was simultaneously horrified, furious, and astounded at the extent of the breach in security. This was no last minute surprise raid. The wards, the ward keepers, the magical attractant, the cauldron and runic arrays – all this suggested an incredible amount of planning.

Heads would be rolling for this. Should he be caught, Barty Crouch Jr would be taking a non stop trip to Azkaban for this escapade. That was where dark wizard traitors belonged.

Not even his father could save him this time, and Lord Riddle, who may have otherwise protected Barty Jr, would most likely be first in the queue calling for Barty Jr’s head, given the absolute fury visible on Riddle’s face.

It was an unheard of level of arrogance and audacity for this “Voldemort” to conduct a magic stealing ritual in front of the internationally broadcast tournament. Despite the suborning of tournament security, a large proportion of the Auror force was present, as were the two most powerful wizards of the century, Dumbledore and Riddle.

It was a very risky move on the part of Voldemort and his Death Eater cohorts to conduct the ritual as publicly as they did. Unfortunately for the kid, the wards surrounding the platform were exceptional, impervious even to Dumbledore and Riddle’s magical might.

Linked as those wards were to the Hogwarts wards the platform could not be accessed without dismantling the Hogwarts wards. Voldemort may as well have been conducting the magic stealing ritual in some hidden, far flung location for all the accessibility the Aurors had to the platform.

It was not looking good for the kid.

But it transpired that Rigel Black was a greater practitioner of constant vigilance than even Moody suspected. Moody’s horror transformed into dark amusement when the ritual failed because the kid had used _someone else’s blood_ to get past the blood ward in the fifth task. Perhaps there was hope for the kid yet.

And then… the biggest shock of all. The kid was not actually Arcturus Rigel Black but a halfblood imposter!

So _this_ was what Moody’s constant vigilance was trying to tell him. All the questions, the anomalies, the mystery surrounding the kid...

And Potter? Had the Head Auror known? A quick glance over to where the contestants’ families were sitting indicated shock and horror on the faces of the Potters, Black and Lupin.

The same shock and horror that was mirrored throughout the stadium, on the faces of Riddle, the Malfoys, the kid’s Hogwarts classmates, the Hogwarts teachers, even Snape…

Constant vigilance told Moody that this was a secret no one else present had known.

Regardless, Moody was going to have _words_ with Potter about Potter’s disgraceful lack of vigilance.

Moody had seen Potter with the kid at Dumbledore’s soiree – constant vigilance told Moody that it was most definitely the same kid – and Potter hadn’t noticed that there was an imposter impersonating his _godson_! And Sirius Black! He hadn’t realised that there was an imposter impersonating his _son_! And Lily Potter just handed her toddler over to an unknown!

_Just how badly were they compromised?_

_Just what had the imposter learnt?_

_Just how long had the imposter been there?_

_And just_ _who_ _was the imposter?_

Moody’s thoughts on Potter’s lack of vigilance were distracted by a kerfuffle on the platform. It looked like the kid would get away. Moody hoped so. The kid had a lot of promise, whoever they were… provided the kid wasn’t actually a dark wizard who had done away with the real Arcturus Rigel Black.

And then came the green light of the Killing Curse.

…

But the kid survived.

How?

Around Moody people were panicking; shouting out that the kid was undead, a monster, that dark magic was involved. But Moody knew otherwise.

Constant vigilance reminded Moody of Potter’s mention of his wife’s latest invention: the Dark Defense Disk. Of course Potter would have given it to his supposed godson.

The Dark Defense Disk appeared to have just had a field test. An amulet that could stop the Killing Curse. Incredible. It could save countless Auror lives.

And then the wards surrounding the platform finally came down and the kid apparated away.

Moody would reserve his judgement on Potter for later. For now there were dark wizards to interrogate and Death Eaters to catch.

* * *

Moody only had to look once at the Head Auror, as Potter ushered a shaken Sirius Black and the real Arcturus Rigel Black through the Department of Magical Law Enforcement late in the afternoon of the day following the tournament, to realise that Moody wasn’t going to be berating Potter any time soon.

In all the years that Moody had known Potter, and Moody had worked with Potter since Potter and Black were both bright eyed trainees, Moody had never seen Potter look so dreadful.

Like all of them, Potter was functioning on little, if any, sleep. But Potter’s bloodshot eyes, his haggard looks and drooping shoulders, were the result of more than just sleep deprivation.

It was if Potter had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

And in a way Moody supposed that Potter did, even though it was Moody who had the task of hunting the dark wizards who had abducted, publicly tortured and attempted to steal the magic from a fourteen year old child, while Potter was tasked with looking for a fourteen year old halfblood who just wanted to get a Hogwarts education. A fourteen year old with the capability to make incredible contributions to society. That kid really was something.

And while the media and ministerial focus on the RBC hunt rather than Moody’s Voldemort investigation made Moody’s life easier, it was still frustrating to know which of the two tasks would get the most resources.

Minister Fudge was fond of Potter and the Minister had personally appointed Potter to lead the search for the imposter, the “Rigel Black Child” or “RBC” as the _Daily Prophet_ had dubbed the kid, only considering a possible conflict of interest when Black junior was found and brought in for questioning.

If the Minister had a lick of sense, or practised even a modicum of vigilance, the Minister would have realised that James Potter was deeply involved in the case at a personal level, and, as such, was not the right person to lead the hunt for RBC.

Potter’s godson was the child who had been impersonated, for Merlin’s sake. Potter should not be allowed anywhere near the RBC investigation.

Potter would be better off coordinating the hunt for the dark wizard Voldemort and leaving RBC to others not so invested in the search. Potter’s strengths lay in coordination, management and delegation, not personally chasing down teenage suspects, as the Minister would expect him to do. In fact, the best thing the Minister could have done was to make Potter take time off to help his extended family.

But the Minister was a politician, and not a particularly clever one at that. The Minister liked Potter; Potter was the Auror the Minister found easiest to deal with, which was the reason why Potter was Head Auror so relatively early in his career.

Not that Moody begrudged Potter his role as Head Auror. Moody liked the flexibility his seniority gave him; Moody detested politicking, meetings and parchmentwork, and it gave Moody great satisfaction to pass on his lessons – particularly constant vigilance! – to the new Auror trainees.

When Moody realised that Potter’s _daughter_ was involved; that this whole debacle was centred around Potter’s extended family, he knew why Potter looked so dreadful.

It was _Potter’s daughter’s place_ at the American Institute of Magic that Heir Black had taken whilst Heiress Potter ostensibly homeschooled herself via a correspondence course and taught herself potions from the lower alleys for the _last four years_.

Moody also knew that his planned lecture to Potter on constant vigilance would not be needed. Not now; it would only serve to distract and unhinge Potter at a time Potter most needed his wits about him. Not ever; Moody knew that these events had taught Potter the true value of constant vigilance. At home and in the office. On duty in the field. Off duty with the family. Always.

Constant vigilance advised Moody of Potter’s greatest fear; that the hunt for RBC would involve Potter’s family in ways Potter was too afraid to contemplate.

Moody’s priority was Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Moody would leave the hunt for RBC to Potter and the others, not that Moody expected that they would find RBC.

Constant vigilance suggested to Moody that they would be looking in all the wrong places.

* * *

Almost a month past the tournament, and neither investigation was having much success.

Moody was frustrated. Little information of any real use had been gained from the two Voldemort followers the Aurors had in custody. Neither Lee Jordan nor Barty Crouch Jr knew much more about Voldemort, the Death Eaters or their plans, only the blood supremacist rhetoric they constantly mouthed. They were either too junior, not trusted, or had been spelled silent.

Both were purebloods, so they had more legal rights than RBC would, if RBC was ever caught, and that just made questioning them harder.

But that wasn’t the only thing hampering the Voldemort investigation.

Constant vigilance told Moody that Riddle was withholding information that could assist in the search for Voldemort, but Moody was not in a position to interrogate the leader of the SOW party.

No one in the DMLE was brave enough to say anything to Riddle’s face, but the similarity in appearance between Voldemort and Riddle had not gone unnoticed, even by those who didn’t practice constant vigilance.

At least the denizens of the lower alleys had been unusually helpful in the hunt for Voldemort, although they were far less helpful, even mildly obstructive, when it came to RBC.

Constant vigilance suggested that in itself meant something, but precisely what, wasn’t forthcoming.

Potter had been working from home for the last couple of weeks at Amelia Bones’s direction. Bones claimed that it was because the constant hassling of Potter in the Ministry lobby was too disruptive to the office, but Moody privately suspected Bones was trying to give Potter some time with his family. Bones could have authorised a direct Floo connection to the DMLE offices from Potter Place instead of directing Potter to work from home.

A large proportion of Potter’s job could actually be done remotely; much of it was planning, scheduling, and parchmentwork, while most meetings could be held over the Floo. But there were still times when a face to face meeting was essential, which is why Moody Flooed to Potter Place that Friday afternoon.

Moody was surprised to see both Potter daughters when he arrived in the Potter Place Floo Room.

The older girl, dressed in black brewing robes, was carrying her younger sister, who sleepily nestled into her shoulder.

“Good afternoon, Auror Moody,” the older girl said politely, as the toddler yawned.

There was something strangely familiar about the older girl, although Moody knew he’d never met her. She’d developed the Protection Potion, so Moody had certainly heard about her, but he knew he’d never actually met the kid, even if constant vigilance suggested otherwise.

The tableau the sisters presented was strikingly similar to when Moody had seen the toddler at Dumbledore’s soiree, then carried by the pretender.

Moody’s constant vigilance was prickling.

“I’m Harry, and this is Addy,” the older girl said, gently stroking the toddler’s copper coloured curls. “I was just on my way to put Addy down for her nap when Dad asked me to show you to his office once you arrived.”

“And how do you know that I’m Auror Moody and not an imposter?” Moody barked at the older girl.

“Dad didn’t give me a security question to ask, but your reputation for _constant vigilance_ precedes you,” she replied.

Moody wasn’t surprised that Potter had told his family about Moody’s constant vigilance crusade.

“Besides,” she continued, “The Potter Place Floo is currently very heavily warded. Dad would never use blood wards, but the Floo’s attuned to magical signatures. Only authorised people can get in – or out.”

There was a strange emphasis on the reference to blood wards, and the last was said somewhat bitterly.

Moody realised that the girl was still effectively under house arrest as punishment for her role in the RBC saga. Unspoken was her frustration at being kept in Potter Place.

“Surely your restrictions will only be till RBC is caught?” Moody suggested helpfully.

She shrugged; carefully though, so as to not upset her now dozing sister.

“Dad really isn’t very happy with me. I can’t really blame him, but it’s still frustrating. I’m running out of potions ingredients.”

Constant vigilance reminded him that the girl was a potioneer, an exceptional potioneer for all that she was a teenager, according to Grindel, the Auror Department’s Potions Master.

“Perhaps I could remind your father that we’re running low on Protection Potion,” Moody suggested.

She beamed and thanked Moody, ushering him to the door to the Floo Room, before leading him upstairs to Potter’s office.

Constant vigilance tingled. The girl was a _halfblood_ potioneer. An _exceptional_ halfblood potioneer.

An exceptional halfblood potioneer whose cousin _took her place_ at AIM while a halfblood potioneer imposter _took his place_ at Hogwarts.

An exceptional halfblood potioneer who carried her sister with the same tenderness RBC had carried the toddler at Dumbledore’s soiree.

Constant vigilance was on high alert.

James Potter really was blind.

Maybe it was time for that lecture on constant vigilance after all.

Moody watched as the girl knocked on Potter’s office door and announced Moody.

Potter looked up from his desk. It was overflowing with blue government folders, newspapers, letters and miscellaneous pieces of parchment. Potter exhaustedly ran a hand through his hair and greeted Moody.

Moody had never seen Potter look so dreadful. Worse, even, than the day he brought his godson in for questioning. Potter was clearly under a lot of stress and it was definitely getting to him.

Constant vigilance told Moody that Potter was not as blind as Moody had presumed; that this was one time when constant vigilance would not serve Potter better than wilful blindness.

“Thanks Harry,” Potter said with a sigh as he put down his quill.

“Thank you, Miss Potter,” Moody added, as the girl and her sister quietly left the room.

Moody wouldn’t say anything. Not to Potter, and not to anyone else. He would focus on the real issue: Voldemort and the Death Eaters. The real dark wizards.

The ones that constant vigilance was always on the lookout for.


End file.
